Powered UpIn Orbiter Processing Facility-1, shuttle Atlantis’ systems are being “powered-up,” or tested, in preparation for its move to the Vehicle Assembly Building where it will be joined with the external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters on the mobile launcher platform. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

Main Engine InstallationIn Kennedy’s Orbiter Processing Facility-1, a Hyster forklift moves the second of three space shuttle main engines closer to shuttle Atlantis for installation.

Each engine is 14 feet long, weighs about 6,700 pounds, and is 7.5 feet in diameter at the end of the nozzle. This is the final planned engine installation for the Space Shuttle Program. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Ready for RolloverShuttle Atlantis slowly backs out of Orbiter Processing Facility-1 during its move to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The move called “rollover” is a major milestone in processing for the STS-135 mission to the International Space Station. Inside the VAB, Atlantis will be attached to its external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller May 17, 2011

By Dana Rohrabacher – For constitutional conservatives, there is little to like in this bill. H.R. 1249 is in reality designed to transform America’s patent system into one that is more like the patent systems in Europe and Asia. It’s called harmonization and it won’t work to the interests of the American people anymore than remodeling our healthcare system to more closely resemble socialist systems in Europe.

By Brendan Greeley – Swedes, this month, ask for no more than a spare patch of grass or dockside granite to bask in the midsummer. The country has never really gone in for protest anyway, and right now there’s nothing to protest about.

The European project has always fed off of the momentum of ever more integration. Now Sweden’s success offers a counterargument: Less integration works, too. It turns out that sovereignty matters, not just to the euroskeptical fringe but to the Swedes, the people who gave the world ABBA, Ikea, and benign socialism. more> http://tinyurl.com/42vhjlw

By Jasmin Melvin – AT&T Inc (T.N) could greatly expand its network capacity for a fraction of the cost it plans to shell out to buy T-Mobile USA, Sprint Nextel (S.N) said on Monday (6/20/11).

“AT&T could increase its capacity by developing its warehoused spectrum, accelerating its 4G network buildout, and implementing a more efficient network architecture.” A 600 percent boost in capacity could handle AT&T’s projected data demands and would cost far less than the $39 billion AT&T would spend to take over T-Mobile, Sprint said. more> http://tinyurl.com/5srarma

CONGRESS WATCH Want an economic recovery? Here’s how By US Congressman Phil Roe – Jobs are created and the economy starts to flourish when businesses start producing more. My policy to promote job growth is to create an atmosphere that … Continue reading →